Fenghao () is the modern name of the twin city formed by the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

capitals of Feng and Hao on opposite banks of the Feng River near its confluence with the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

History

As Duke Wen (ruled c. 1099–1050 BCE) expanded the territory of Zhou east into

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

in preparation for an assault on his nominal

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

overlords, he constructed a new capital on the west bank of the Feng about downstream from Zhou's original capital on the Wei River below Mount Qi. This city was called Feng, Fengxi, or Fengjing (, ''Fēngjīng''). After his son Fa defeated the Shang at

Muye Muye District () is a district of the city of Xinxiang, Henan province, China. History The BC Battle of Muye ended Shang hegemony over the Wei and Yellow Rivers and established the state of Zhou. Administrative divisions As 2012, this district ...

and ascended the throne as King Wu (ruled c. 1046–1043 BCE), the capital was moved to a new establishment on the east bank called Hao or Haojing. The two formed a twin capital, with Feng continuing to serve the rituals of the Zhou

Ancestral Shrine An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestra ...

and gardens and Hao containing the royal palace and government administration. Both were abandoned in 771 BC during the

Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...

invasion that drove the Zhou out of the Wei River Valley and brought an end to its Western dynasty. The capital of the

Eastern Zhou The Eastern Zhou (; zh, c=, p=Dōngzhōu, w=Tung1-chou1, t= ; 771–256 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the second half of the Zhou dynasty. It was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States. History In 770 ...

was located at

Chengzhou Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanya ...

Ruins

The ruins of Fenghao lie in present-day southwest

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), ...

. The site was declared an important national cultural heritage site by the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the pr ...

in 1961.

References

''This article is based on a translation of '
沣镐
'' in the Chinese Wikipedia.'' Ancient Chinese capitals History of Xi'an 11th-century BC establishments 2nd-millennium BC establishments Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi {{PRChina-geo-stub

History

Ruins

See also

References